Portland Mercuryhttp://www.portlandmercury.com
Portland's Most Awesome Weekly Newspaper. Covering Portland news, politics, music, food & drink, comedy, cannabis, film, and arts; plus the most extensive movie times, club calendars, and blogs.en-usCopyright 2016 Portland Mercury. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Portland Mercury readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Portland Mercury.news@portlandmercury.com (Portland Mercury Editor)webmaster@portlandmercury.com (Portland Mercury Webmaster)Fri, 09 Dec 2016 00:00:01 -0800Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:45:00 -0800Foundationhttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssJust So We're Clear, Ohio, Banning Abortion at Six Weeks is Effectively Banning Abortion Completelyhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/08/18735703/just-so-were-clear-ohio-banning-abortion-at-six-weeks-is-effectively-banning-abortion-completely
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/08/18735703/just-so-were-clear-ohio-banning-abortion-at-six-weeks-is-effectively-banning-abortion-completelyMegan Burbank
by Megan Burbank
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/18736023/1481232104-istock-517524426.jpg" alt="Unless you have a uterus!" title="Unless you have a uterus!"><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">Unless you have a uterus!</span> <span class="imageCredit">fotoguy22 / istock</span></div></div></p>
<p>This week, Ohio's state legislature made a conservative wet dream come true: They voted to ban abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/12/07/empowered-by-trump-ohio-legislature-pass-heartbeat-bill-that-would-ban-most-abortions/?utm_term=.fc882e02789f">as early as six weeks into a pregnancy</a>. Just so we're absolutely clear on this, banning abortion at six weeks is a disingenuous, scientifically absurd way to essentially ban abortion completely. It conveniently ignores the fact that many women <a href="http://www.vox.com/identities/2016/12/7/13875488/ohio-abortion-ban-heartbeat-six-weeks">don't know they're pregnant that early</a> and punishes them for that biological quirk. Oh yeah, and there's no exception for cases of rape or incest, because prescriptive, anti-choice cruelty evidently knows no bounds.</p>
<p>There's plenty of trash model legislation bandied about by the hate groups* that want to cut off access to abortion—there are the ones that <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2006/10/misinformed-consent-medical-accuracy-state-developed-abortion-counseling-materials">exaggerate the risks</a> of abortion and require doctors to lie to their patients, the ones rooted in <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/06/study-sex-selective-abortion-bans-racist-asian-americans">racist stereotypes</a>, the ones that <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/02/miscarriage-death-penalty-georgia">criminalize miscarriage</a>, etc.—but what's so damaging about these so-called "heartbeat" bills is that they hide their real intent—effectively outlawing abortion—behind a cutesy affectation of concern for the fetal heartbeat, which conveniently happens to be detectable for (SURPRISE!) most of a pregnancy. Feigned concern distracts from the bill's abject cruelty, which is how most anti-choice legislation works.</p>
<p>Welcome to Trump's America. This is likely what it's going to look like when it comes to reproductive rights. We're going to see more extremists (again, that's what they are*) making <em>Roe v. Wade</em> all but meaningless through deliberately misleading bills like this one. And that's not even taking into account the shitshow of the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>Ohio Governor John Kasich hasn't said whether or not he'll sign off on this law. But despite comparisons to a <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=john%20kasich%20%2B%20teddy%20bear&src=typd">teddy bear </a>and being less awful than the racist baked potato-elect, his <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/john-kasich-abortion-2016-campaign-218846">record on abortion</a> is bad enough to suggest that he will.</p>
<p>Of course, when abortion is illegal, abortions still happen. So if you're advocating for an abortion ban like this one, you're advocating for an abortion-hostile environment that leads women to <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2015/11/17/women-in-texas-are-inducing-their-abortions-themselves">self-inducing</a>, which is horrific and dangerous. I hate everything about this. If you do too, here's where you can donate to <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-columbia-willamette/donate-or-get-involved/donate">Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette</a>.</p>
<p><em>*I'm calling them hate groups because they clearly hate women and some of them commit acts of <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/sorry-gop-pretty-sure-terrorism-was-already-political/Content?oid=17084823">domestic terrorism</a>, and IDK for some reason I'm just really into calling things what they are lately.</em></p>
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Unless you have a uterus!fotoguy22Thu, 08 Dec 2016 14:19:09 -0800Portland MercuryLetters to the Editor: Liberal Bubbles and Conservative Hellholeshttp://www.portlandmercury.com/letters/2016/12/07/18732503/letters-to-the-editor
http://www.portlandmercury.com/letters/2016/12/07/18732503/letters-to-the-editorErik Henriksen
by Erik Henriksen
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18735809/1481222949-istock-503081960-ognjeno.jpeg" alt="istock-503081960-ognjeno.jpeg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">ISTOCK / OGNJENO</span></div></div></p>
<p><em>RE: “<a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/05/18729189/the-liberal-bubble-is-a-ridiculous-myth">The ‘Liberal Bubble’ Is a Ridiculous Myth</a>” [Blogtown, Dec 5]. “Now that the white working class has enabled a Manhattan billionaire to dick-swing his way into the White House, it’s time to realize the idea of a ‘liberal elite bubble’ is a false one,” wrote Senior Editor Ned Lannamann. “The notion of such a bubble presumes that US cities, with diverse populations in close proximity to each other, are not representative of the actual American citizenry, but rather are an aberration.”</em></p>
<p><strong>As someone</strong> who grew up in a rural area that once had a thriving mill economy, but now lives in a city for the sole purpose of obtaining employment, I know the liberal bubble to be a real thing. Not all cities are liberal bubbles, however. Some cities host a variety of political ideas. But Portland certainly is.</p>
<p><em>pollo</em></p>
<p><strong>The bubbles</strong> we live in are not geographical. They are formed by our self-curation of information, made possible by the internet in 2016.</p>
<p><em>pdxMB</em></p>
<p><strong>I like the perspective</strong> and think it merits some further thought. The “liberal bubble” gets bandied about as though we’ve done something to ignore reality. The people ignoring reality may be those stuck in the conservative hellholes.</p>
<p><em>mray</em></p>
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ISTOCK / OGNJENOThu, 08 Dec 2016 12:59:45 -0800Portland MercuryThings to Do Tonight!http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/08/18725136/things-to-do-tonight
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/08/18725136/things-to-do-tonightMercury Staff
by Mercury Staff
<p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:500px;"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732793/young-thug-main-pub-photo-2-richard-martin_720.jpg" alt="" title="" width="500" ></div></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18641360/young-thug">Young Thug</a></b><br /> Young Thug dropped <i>Jeffery</i> in August, a fantastic preview to his forthcoming and oddly named debut studio album, <i>Hy!£UN35</i>. Though the Atlanta rapper (whose full name is Jeffery Lamar Williams) used his own name to title the hook-heavy mixtape, its tracks are named after his “idols”: “Floyd Mayweather,” “Kanye West,” and “Harambe,” among others. CIARA DOLAN.<br />
<b>8 pm, Roseland, $35-100, all ages</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18575891/colin-meloy-edna-vazquez">Colin Meloy, Edna Vasquez</a></b><br /> A benefit solo show from the Decemberists' frontman, raising awareness and support for the Victory Academy, a school for kids on the autism spectrum. <br />
<b>8 pm, Aladdin Theater, $35-65</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18598454/sltface-blowout">Sløtface, Blowout</a></b><br /> The Norwegian pop-punk quartet formally known as Slutface hit Portland in support of their debut EP, <i>Sponge State</i>. Local DIY stalwarts Blowout provide support.<br />
<b>9 pm, Holocene, $12</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18593371/gary-gulman">Gary Gulman</a></b><br /> Gary Gulman is a New York City-based comedian who honed his act on high school students as a gym teacher before bringing them to the stage. He's performed stand-up on every single late night talk show, and finished third on season 2 of NBC's <i>Last Comic Standing</i>.<br />
<b>8 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $15-33</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18674421/porter-robinson-madeon">Porter Robinson, Madeon</a></b><br /> Fresh off a successful collaboration powered by the magic of anime, Robinson and Madeon bring their high energy Shelter stage show to Portland. <br />
<b>8 pm, Rose Quarter Memorial Coliseum, $35</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18600492/phantogram-my-body">Phantogram, My Body</a></b><br /> Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter of Phantogram have a lock on nonchalantly cool rhythm and slightly druggy mystique. Their electronic music is well suited to similarly beat-driven pursuits like walking purposefully or swaying knowingly at one of their spacily transportive live performances. MARJORIE SKINNER <br />
<b>8 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $35.50, all ages</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18717620/breakbeat-party">Breakbeat Party</a></b><br /> For once the Liquor Store is kinda/sorta a liquor store, hosting this party for Elysian's latest IPA release from their Manic series, with Takimba, the Pariahs, and Vinylogy taking turns behind the decks all night long.<br />
<b>8 pm, The Liquor Store</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18707162/bubble-cats-dusty-small-field">Bubble Cats, Dusty, Small Field</a></b><br /> Bubble Cats are not a joke band. Despite their adorable moniker and their Tumblr full of strange feline memes, the genre-bending Portland quartet is less concerned about the perception their artistic motif might give off, and more focused on their somewhat overlooked cache of up-tempo post-rock outbursts. RYAN J. PRADO<br />
<b>9 pm, (The World Famous) Kenton Club</b></p>
<p>Don't forget to check out our <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events">Things To Do calendar</a> for <i>even more</I> things to do!</p>
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Thu, 08 Dec 2016 12:30:00 -0800Portland MercuryJoin Me in My Doomed Effort to Enjoy Holiday Theater Seasonhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/theater/2016/12/07/18732563/a-cure-for-holiday-theater-season
http://www.portlandmercury.com/theater/2016/12/07/18732563/a-cure-for-holiday-theater-seasonMegan Burbank
by Megan Burbank
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18735739/1481220494-santaland-pw-4.jpg" alt="santaland-pw-4.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">PATRICK WEISHAMPEL / BLANKEYE.TV</span></div></div></p>
<p>I KNOW. You hear me grouse about holiday theater season constantly, with all the gray-mustachioed derision of Statler and Waldorf. But it’s HERE. And despite all my haranguing, IT ISN’T GOING AWAY. If you’re about to be spending a lot of time with your extended family, and you’ve already told your racist uncle why he should stop making offensive jokes (we’re all interrupting our racist uncles this Christmas, right? GOOD) then “quality time” may be best spent shoulder-to-shoulder with your eyeballs pointed in the same direction. Besides, I’m trying to be less crabby about the glitter explosions ahead. So I mined this year’s holiday show offerings for sound alternatives to hate-watching Love Actually through a critical feminist lens for the thousandth time. Will it work? Probably not! But let’s try anyway. Here are five opportunities to avoid being uncharitably compared to a hateful, antisocial miser this holiday season.</p>
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PATRICK WEISHAMPEL / BLANKEYE.TVThu, 08 Dec 2016 11:59:20 -0800Portland MercuryMexico City Producer Mijo Speaks to Third World Experiences Through Technohttp://www.portlandmercury.com/music/2016/12/07/18731842/mijos-magnetic-and-mutated-house-music
http://www.portlandmercury.com/music/2016/12/07/18731842/mijos-magnetic-and-mutated-house-musicDaniela Serna
by Daniela Serna
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732961/1481147042-mijopromoalta2.jpg" alt="MIJO Mexican tech." title="MIJO Mexican tech."><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">MIJO <i>Mexican tech.</i></span> <span class="imageCredit">Courtesy of the artist</span></div></div></p>
<p><b>MIJO IS AN</b> alias of producer Alec Sander, a hyperactive player in Mexico’s internationally hyped and ever-evolving dance music scene. Sander has been pumping out Techmex records as co-founder of innovative and prolific labels Electrique Music, Disque Discos, and Exxxtra Picante while maintaining a steady output of magnetic and mutated house music under the monikers Mijo, La Royale, Moon Runner, and Yesco.</p>
<p>“I think Mexican artists are always struggling to set their work apart from the obvious American and European influence that marks a colonized country—and besides that, in modern times, we can’t really escape American music because of radio and TV,” Sander says. As Mijo, he blends New York house bass lines, Detroit techno snares, and Italo disco, but what makes his music unique is the influence of street life in Mexico City.</p>
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MIJO <i>Mexican tech.</i>Courtesy of the artistThu, 08 Dec 2016 11:29:00 -0800Portland MercuryThings To Do Film: Jet Li, Christmas Vacation, and Spartacus and Sleeping Beauty in 70mm!http://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2016/12/07/18731860/things-to-do-film
http://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2016/12/07/18731860/things-to-do-filmMercury Staff
by Mercury Staff
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18735727/1481219797-shorts-1-spartacus.jpg" alt="shorts-1-spartacus.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/18730624/aquarius">Aquarius</a></strong><br /><em><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2016/12/07/18731855/ages-of-aquarius">See review, this issue</a>.</em> <strong>Cinema 21.</strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/18653502/arrival">Arrival</a></strong><br />In the bright light of something shiny and new, it’s easy to declare that thing an outlier: To smile and point and proclaim that here, at last, is a thing that makes everything that follows a little bit different. I saw <em>Arrival</em> Monday night, which means it’s undoubtedly just a bit too soon to declare it a science-fiction classic. Given that we’re finally (finally, <em>finally</em>) coming to the end of 2016, though, it’s probably fair to declare it this: One of the bright points, and one of the greatest movies, of this horrible, awful year. It’s also likely the best film yet from Denis Villeneuve, the director behind the excellent <em>Sicario</em> and <em>Prisoners</em>—and who, with <em>Arrival</em>, offers something entirely different. Arrival is an ominous, thrumming, beautiful thing that starts out being about aliens who need a decoder ring. It ends up being about something quite different. ERIK HENRIKSEN <strong>Various Theaters.</strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/94359/bad-santa">Bad Santa</a></strong><br />There’s a sequel to this now. Don’t go to that. Go to this. Not only does it work better as a stand-alone story of cheerful misanthropy, but it also works better as a <em>Gilmore Girls</em> finale, thanks to the presence of Lauren Graham. Plus for as long as this movie is running, you can pretend that Bernie Mac and John Ritter are still alive, and that’s a Christmas miracle all by itself. At least right up until the point where Bernie gets hit by a car and electrocuted (spoilers.) But still! Watch this. Avoid the sequel. Celebrate the hate. Merry fuckin’ Christmas. BOBBY ROBERTS <strong>Laurelhurst Theater.</strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/18690004/bad-santa-2">Bad Santa 2</a></strong><br />A Christmas movie doesn’t have to be that good to make it into the yearly holiday rotation. (Cases in point: <em>Elf. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Love Actually</em>. Don’t @ me.) So when a Christmas movie is just a little bit better than it needs to be, it’s reason to rejoice. After all, we’re gonna be stuck watching the damn thing every year for the rest of our lives, so every little bit counts. <em>Bad Santa</em> is one of those above-average Christmas movies. <em>Bad Santa 2 </em>is not. NED LANNAMANN <strong>Various Theaters.</strong></p>
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Thu, 08 Dec 2016 11:23:00 -0800Portland MercurySnow is Coming—Is Your Sled Ready?http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/08/18735710/snow-is-comingis-your-sled-ready
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/08/18735710/snow-is-comingis-your-sled-readyWm.™ Steven Humphrey
by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
<p>As I write this, a snow storm is quickly approaching Portland—and what exactly are you doing about it? While worry warts are rushing the local grocery stores for unneeded supplies, you should get your fucking priorities in order: <strong>WHAT'S YOUR SLED SITUATION?</strong></p>
<p>If you have a sled in the garage, drop whatever useless thing you're doing right now, and <strong>go and prep it</strong>. If you've thought ahead, you already have two sleds (like I do).</p>
<p><strong>A Flexible Flyer sled with rails:</strong><br /><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:500px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/18735717/1481219190-screen_shot_2016-12-08_at_9.45.15_am.png" alt="Screen_Shot_2016-12-08_at_9.45.15_AM.png" title=""></div><br />This style of sled is best in <strong>icy conditions</strong>—be sure to get an ordinary bar of soap and wax the rails to obtain maximum velocity. This sled also can be steered (which is a big plus), and ridden on one's butt or head first (which many people advise against, but they are stupid and scared of life, so ignore them).</p>
<p><strong>A plastic or wooden toboggan-style sled:</strong><br /><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:500px"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18735718/1481219466-screen_shot_2016-12-08_at_9.50.40_am.png" alt="Screen_Shot_2016-12-08_at_9.50.40_AM.png" title=""></div><br />This sled is<strong> best for soft, snowy conditions </strong>and won't get bogged down like Flexible Flyer might. It's fast as fuck, and even faster as fuck if you soap the bottom. Downside: Upon reaching top speeds it will drift in any direction it prefers—usually heading for the underside of a parked car, which will ultimately result in a broken hip and extended hospital stay. Don't think about that. Stick your hands in the snow at the rear of the sled to steer, kind of like how a kayaker uses their paddle.</p>
<p><strong>DON'T HAVE ANY SLEDS?</strong> Well, here are some less attractive substitutes:</p>
<p><strong>Inner-tubes</strong> (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvaM0DamT3k">the death trap of sleds</a>).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/tru_prod_images/Wham-O-37-inch-Boogie-Board--pTRU1-19838304dt.jpg">Boogie boards. </a></p>
<p>Here's how to make a <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/how-to-make-a-fast-sled-out-of-household-items/">makeshift sled out of a cardboard box and garbage bag.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.webstaurantstore.com/full-size-20-gauge-18-x-26-sanitary-open-bead-rim-stainless-steel-bun-pan-sheet-pan/407FULLSS.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=CJONsKOW5dACFYdufgodXPQPHQ">A Cookie Sheet </a>(one that will preferably fit your butt).</p>
<p><strong>Trash can lid </strong>(you'll look dumb, but okay), <strong>shower curtain</strong> (you'll look REALLY dumb, but okay)—HOWEVER, if you're very clever, construct a makeshift sled using an<strong> inflatable air mattress and pantyhose</strong>... like these clever snow lovers!<br /><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-A7ZTNhvQn4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p>
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Thu, 08 Dec 2016 10:16:05 -0800Portland MercuryIn Reclamation, Justin Hocking Goes Undergroundhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/books/2016/12/07/18732570/justin-hocking-goes-underground
http://www.portlandmercury.com/books/2016/12/07/18732570/justin-hocking-goes-undergroundJoshua James Amberson
by Joshua James Amberson
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18735734/1481220078-justinhocking-bycaitlinharris.jpg" alt="justinhocking-bycaitlinharris.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">Caitlin Harris</span></div></div></p>
<p><em>Reclamation: Essays</em>, the new chapbook from Portland author Justin Hocking, looks under the surface—into caves and mines, geological formations, buried memories, and secrets. Released last week, the chapbook mixes the personal with the historical, the lyrical with the journalistic, and spans centuries in an attempt to unearth what’s been hidden underground.</p>
<p>Part of a larger memoir-in-progress, the six short essays in <em>Reclamation</em> form what Hocking calls “an encapsulated excerpt”—a distilled selection from a larger whole that hints at the book’s trajectory and presents all the memoir’s different threads. It’s a technique he used while writing his first memoir, the Oregon Book Award-winning <em>The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld</em>. He published a short chapbook called <em>Beach 90th </em>while the book was still in the works to “get a piece of it out into the world.”</p>
<p>In Reclamation, Hocking works in a manner similar to writers like Maggie Nelson, John D’Agata, and Eliot Weinberger, assembling a variety of seemingly disparate histories and connecting them to a larger theme or narrative. During Hocking’s navigation of the subterranean, he brings together his experiences caving as a teenager, a mine disaster that occurred near his home town in Colorado, the etymology of the word exploit, the TV show Hogan’s Heroes, the Gnostic Gospels, the secret life of John James Audubon, and his personal history as a victim of sexual abuse.</p>
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Caitlin HarrisThu, 08 Dec 2016 10:04:10 -0800Portland MercurySteve Novick's Tax on Egregious CEO Pay Passed, and National Media's All Over Ithttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/08/18735598/steve-novicks-tax-on-egregious-ceo-pay-passed-and-national-medias-all-over-it
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/08/18735598/steve-novicks-tax-on-egregious-ceo-pay-passed-and-national-medias-all-over-itDirk VanderHart
by Dirk VanderHart
<p><div class="blogImageRight img-responsive" style="width:350px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18735706/1481218365-screen_shot_2016-12-08_at_9.31.51_am.png" alt="Steve Novick" title="Steve Novick"><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">Steve Novick</span></div></div>It's a well-worn tradition of Portland City Council (and probably any political body, large or small): Commissioners who are about to pass groundbreaking or politically fraught policy take a victory lap, of sorts, laying down flowery language about its importance, thanking aides and community supporters, etc. </p>
<p>Yet there was Commissioner Steve Novick yesterday, on the verge of making Portland the first city in the country to slap a tax penalty on egregious CEO pay, and declining to revel in it. </p>
<p>"I'm going to say only 'aye,'" Novick told his colleagues as his time to vote for the policy came shortly before 4 pm. "I'm desperate to get this passed in the next seven minutes. We will make East Coast media deadlines." </p>
<p>It was, apparently, a canny move. Novick's victory lap is playing out in the national press.</p>
<p>The commissioner has a triumphant portrait in the <em>New York Times</em>, anchoring <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/business/economy/portland-oregon-tax-executive-pay.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1">a story about his CEO pay surtax</a>.<a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/in-portland-overcompensated-ceos-will-pay.html"> <i>New York</i> magazine</a> and <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/12/08/portland-business-ceo-surtax/"><i>Fortune</i></a> have since piled on.</p>
<p>This is exactly the type of thing Novick was hoping for. </p>
<p>The new surtax, aimed at the growing problem of wealth inequality, will affect companies that pay their CEOs salaries that are far out of step with employee pay. Firms that pay CEOs 100 times or more the rate of the average worker will receive a 10 percent "surtax" on the Business License Tax they pay to do business in Portland. Companies that pay CEOs 250 times or more the average worker pay will see a 25 percent surtax. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3039501-CEO-Charge.html#document/p1">analysis</a> circulated by Novick's office suggests the tax could raise between $2.5 million and $3.5 million a year. </p>
<p>But it does nothing to hamper wealth inequality if other cities around the country don't follow suit, sending a message to large corporations to pay employees more (or executives less). That's why Novick was<a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/11/16/18697921/the-wall-street-journal-hates-steve-novicks-plan-to-tax-high-ceo-pay"> so tickled last month</a> to see the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> inveigh against his measure: Even in dismissing the idea as foolhardy, the paper was spreading the idea around.</p>
<p><em>The Guardian</em> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/05/portland-ceo-salary-tax-vote-wealth-inequality">chimed in</a> with a story earlier this week, and with the policy's passage Wednesday, outlets around the country are doing the same thing. </p>
<p>Novick's proposal is enabled by new US Securities and Exchange Commission rules that, beginning next year, will require public companies to report the ratio their CEOs are paid compared to average employees. It was opposed by the Portland Business Alliance, which argued it would only hamper business activity in Portland, while failing to meaningfully solve inequality. </p>
<p>Commissioner Dan Saltzman, the lone "nay" in a 3-1 vote, had another reason for opposing the plan. He thinks it's a bit careless. </p>
<p>"I really believe the headroom under the [business license tax] should be reserved for truly unforeseen situations, which are…never too far around the corner," Saltzman said. "I don't believe this is the right time, right place, or right reason to increase business income tax." <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/12/steve_novicks_ceo_tax_wins_clo.html#incart_2box">According to</a> the <em>Oregonian</em>, Commissioner Nick Fish would have joined Saltzman in opposition, were he present. </p>
<p>But Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Amanda Fritz agreed with Novick's idea—cribbed from proposals in other parts of the country, but a first for any city. </p>
<p>By the way, these kinds of CEO pay ratios aren't at all uncommon. As we've reported, City Revenue Director Thomas Lannom testified that his office has looked at local pay ratios that are above 1,000-to-one. The <a href="http://oraflcio.org/press-releases-staetments/2016/5/23/oregons-ceos-paid-327-times-average-worker-outsourcing-results-in-even-higher-inequality">Oregon AFL-CIO says </a>Oregon CEOs are paid an average of 327 times the salary of average employees.</p>
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Steve NovickThu, 08 Dec 2016 09:38:27 -0800Portland MercuryFinally, An Office Christmas Party That Won't Get You Firedhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2016/12/07/18732021/youve-been-to-worse-parties-than-this
http://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2016/12/07/18732021/youve-been-to-worse-parties-than-thisNed Lannamann
by Ned Lannamann
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18735700/1481217619-film-officechristmas-party.jpg" alt="film-officechristmas-party.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p>There's nothing more depressing than a bad office Christmas party. The music is schmaltzy, the eggnog has a skin growing on it, and Walt from marketing starts getting <em>reeeeal</em> enthusiastic about getting you into the copy room. But a good office Christmas party gives everyone the chance to let their hair down, to show off a saucy side their buttoned-up workday personas don’t allow for. As evidenced by the title, <em>Office Christmas Party</em> is not a particularly imaginative movie, but it does place some incredibly charismatic TV actors in a new setting, giving them a chance to improvise and earn a hefty paycheck in the process.</p>
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Thu, 08 Dec 2016 09:29:50 -0800Portland MercuryWill Trump Kill Legal Cannabis? Maybe, But Don't Forget About All That Weed Moneyhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/cannabis/2016/12/07/18731801/will-trump-kill-legal-weed
http://www.portlandmercury.com/cannabis/2016/12/07/18731801/will-trump-kill-legal-weedDavid Schmader
by David Schmader
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732501/1481130730-pot2-mikeforce.jpg" alt="pot2-mikeforce.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">Mike Force</span></div></div><br /><b>JOE DOLCE</b> is the former editor of <i>Details</i> magazine and the author of <i>Brave New Weed</i>, an expansively researched new book that finds the author trekking from Amsterdam to Israel to Colorado to craft an up-to-the-minute portrait of the past and future of cannabis. Six days after a spasmodically sentient diarrhea sculpture was elected president of the United States, Dolce was in Las Vegas to deliver the keynote address at the Arcview Summit, a gathering of ambitious, seriously moneyed cannabis entrepreneurs. “The mood of the crowd, which was not filled with Trump supporters, was positively giddy,” wrote Dolce in a Facebook post, noting the eight states that approved or expanded access to legal cannabis on Election Day. “But is the promise of cannabis, the only next great American boom on the horizon, so intoxicating that their optimism is leading them to believe that this infant industry is too big to be shut down?”</p>
<p>What followed was a long and bracing post in which Dolce held forth on the iffiness of a multi-billion-dollar industry built entirely on the judicious kindness of a liberal president who found it in his heart to look the other way as Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon legalized a substance that remains federal contraband. With Obama out and Trump in, is a reversal of fortune for cannabis pending?</p>
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Mike ForceThu, 08 Dec 2016 09:14:09 -0800Portland MercuryGood Morning, News: Snow, a Big Day For City Council, and the Rape Kit Backloghttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/08/18735548/good-morning-news-snow-a-big-day-for-city-council-and-the-rape-kit-backlog
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/08/18735548/good-morning-news-snow-a-big-day-for-city-council-and-the-rape-kit-backlogDoug Brown
by Doug Brown
<p>Good morning, Portland. Put on a sweater and click these links. And, just to get it out of the way early, here's <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2016/12/thursday_is_going_to_be_a_bad.html#incart_big-photo">a link about today's weather</a>, and here's <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/12/oregon_school_closings_and_lat.html#incart_big-photo">a list of school closures</a>. </p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18735549/1481210939-jennifer_ilett.jpg" alt="Jennifer_Ilett.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">Jennifer Ilett</span></div></div></p>
<p>First, <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/feature/2016/12/07/18732402/justice-delayed">this week's feature</a>, out in print as of yesterday, is a good one on the <strong>rape kit backlog</strong> in Oregon and how the state is changing the way sexual assault cases are handled:<br /><blockquote>Last spring, the Oregon Legislature passed two bills reforming how the state handles cases of sexual assault. One struck down the statute of limitations in cases of sexual assault, allowing victims more time to come forward; the other mandated that Oregon’s huge backlog of rape kits finally be processed. In April, almost 3,000 untested kits—some dating back 10 years—were shipped to a lab in Salt Lake City to be tested. In October, 33 came back with DNA matches to perpetrators in a national criminal database.</p></blockquote>
<p>Also <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2016/12/07/18732368/advocates-are-making-their-strongest-pitch-yet-for-new-homeless-villages">out in print yesterday</a>, is the story on <strong>top architects designing pods</strong> to create small communities for the houseless. </p>
<p>And then there's this. A <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2016/12/07/18732371/higher-scrutiny-leads-to-lower-morale-for-local-cops">new survey released last month</a> documents some attitudes of officers in the Portland Police Bureau: "<strong>Cops feel burned out, emotionally hardened, and increasingly unsatisfied</strong> satisfied working for the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). Most feel they are more disrespected by the public and the media compared to 2015, and nearly all feel more reluctant, because of criticism, to use force when 'appropriate.'"</p>
<p>Yesterday was a busy day for the Portland City Council. Here's some coverage:<br />•<a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18734756/its-official-portlands-about-to-adopt-a-new-campaign-finance-systemwithout-asking-voters"><em>The Mercury</em></a>, on <strong>a new campaign finance system</strong> for Portland elections: "As expected, Commissioner Amanda Fritz's 'Open and Accountable Elections' proposal found the backing of Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Steve Novick. And despite the exhortations of the remainder of council, that three vote-bloc will pass Fritz's new system into law next week without first asking voters what they think."<br />•<a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18732899/mayor-charlie-hales-federal-judge-should-be-removed-from-minding-portland-police-reforms"><em>The Mercury</em></a>, on <strong>Hales getting upset with the federal judge</strong> overseeing the settlement agreement between the city and Department of Justice: "Mayor Charlie Hales says a federal judge 'has lost credibility and standing in terms of being an impartial body' in overseeing Portland's efforts to reform its police bureau, and that another judge should be appointed."<br />•<a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18733109/officials-plan-to-clear-north-portlands-forgotten-realms-camp-after-monday-fire"><em>The Mercury</em></a>, on plans to <strong>clear a homeless camp</strong> in North Portland: "For nearly a year, the organized homeless camp has sat on a city-owned lot at North Kerby and Graham. But in light of a fire that engulfed a small structure and damaged an adjacent home on Monday, city officials are planning to move residents elsewhere, according to Mayor Charlie Hales' office."<br />•<a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/12/steve_novicks_ceo_tax_wins_clo.html#incart_2box"><em>The Oregonian</em>,</a> on Commissioner Steve <strong>Novick's CEO tax proposa</strong>l: "The tax targets publicly traded companies whose chief executives report salaries at least 100 times higher than the salary of a median worker. Officials expect to raise $2.5 million a year starting in January 2017, with Novick hoping the money will help pay for homeless services."</p>
<p>New Oregon football coach <strong>Willie Taggart</strong>, formerly of South Florida, will have a press conference this morning. Here's <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2016/12/willie_taggart_introduced_as_o.html#incart_river_home">the <em>Oregonian</em>'s coverage on that</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Two pedestrians were killed</strong> by cars in separate incidents on SE Division last night. <a href="http://katu.com/news/local/pedestrian-struck-and-killed-on-southeast-division">Not good</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/335344-214659-some-fear-multnomah-county-is-closing-too-many-jail-beds">The <em>Portland Tribune</em></a>, on bed closure issues at<strong> jails in Multnomah County</strong>. </p>
<p>Seattle Seawaks star safety <strong>Earl Thomas</strong> <a href="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/12/05/one-day-later-earl-thomas-feels-no-different/">broke his leg on Sunday</a> and he's out through the end of the season, at least. I think I've found his replacement:<br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The sports highlight of the day is this dog: <a href="https://t.co/MGJCRG4IF6">https://t.co/MGJCRG4IF6</a> <a href="https://t.co/rtL4wgpyWD">pic.twitter.com/rtL4wgpyWD</a><br />— Deadspin (@Deadspin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/806855841932570624">December 8, 2016</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
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Jennifer IlettThu, 08 Dec 2016 08:03:24 -0800Portland MercuryWipe it Offhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2016/12/07/18734905/wipe-it-off
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2016/12/07/18734905/wipe-it-offAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>I don't know why, but when I see someone with a huge grin on their face, it annoys the fuck out of me. I saw a guy earlier today pull into the Fred Meyer parking lot after I had just finished parking. His grin was a mile wide, and there was nothing to indicate why such a smile should exist. Perhaps he was listening to some hilarious podcast (Sick and Wrong, maybe?), but I immediately hated him. </p>
<p>If I really sit and ponder on it, I think why it annoys the hell out of me is the fact that 99.99% of the people I see with a huge Cheshire Cat Grin on their face are white. Only white people have a reason to shove their happiness onto the world... and no (for all you trollers out there), I ain't white. </p>
<p>I'm super happy that your fucking life is just pure bliss... really, I am. I'm happy that you can drive/walk/sit around all day forcing the world to look at your gleaming white teeth, letting everybody know how good you have it. Live it up, and let the world know... isn't that your duty or something? </p>
<p>Seriously, quit smiling like you've just won the lottery or something... you're only at the fucking grocery store/bus stop/gas station/restaurant, for God's sake!</p>
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Wed, 07 Dec 2016 19:40:17 -0800Portland MercuryIt's Official: Portland's About to Adopt a New Campaign Finance System—Without Asking Votershttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18734756/its-official-portlands-about-to-adopt-a-new-campaign-finance-systemwithout-asking-voters
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18734756/its-official-portlands-about-to-adopt-a-new-campaign-finance-systemwithout-asking-votersDirk VanderHart
by Dirk VanderHart
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:617px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18734789/1481162828-thing.png" alt="thing.png" title=""></div></p>
<p>It wasn't a final vote, but if you were watching Portland City Council consider a new proposed campaign finance system on Wednesday afternoon, you got the picture. </p>
<p>As expected, Commissioner Amanda Fritz's <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2016/09/14/18564881/amanda-fritz-wants-to-push-big-money-out-of-portland-elections">"Open and Accountable Elections" proposal </a>found the backing of Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Steve Novick. And despite the exhortations of the remainder of council, that three vote-bloc will pass Fritz's new system into law next week without first asking voters what they think. </p>
<p>Fritz, Hales, and Novick all voted down an amendment—introduced by Commissioner Dan Saltzman and pushed by Commissioner Nick Fish—that would have let Portland voters decide the program's fate during the May 2017 election.</p>
<p>That's interesting, since voters narrowly killed Portland's last system for financing campaigns in 2010. </p>
<p>"We’re better when we rely on our voters to effect major changes that cost some of their pocketbooks," Saltzman told his colleagues. "I think there’s a puzzling, baffling fear not to ask. I think we’d be better off if we did."</p>
<p>Fish was absent, and Saltzman's arguments were swiftly dashed in a 3-1 vote against—a sure sign the proposal will pass during a second reading next week.</p>
<p>We've reported a lot about the campaign finance proposal (see <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2016/09/14/18564881/amanda-fritz-wants-to-push-big-money-out-of-portland-elections">here</a>, <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/10/28/18660664/portlands-auditor-says-commissioner-amanda-fritz-is-trying-to-illegally-force-a-new-elections-system-on-her-staff">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/02/18724073/the-portland-office-that-handles-pot-and-neighborhood-associations-might-soon-oversee-campaign-finance">here</a>) which would allow qualifying candidates for city office to leverage tax dollars to multiply small donations from the public. With that help comes a requirement that candidates limit their spending (even though Oregon has no campaign finance limits) and not accept donations from political action committees. </p>
<p>To fund the program, the campaign system would get a maximum of 0.2 percent of the city's general fund each year—currently about $1.2 million. </p>
<p>The proposal shifted a bit Wednesday, when council approved a slate of amendments aimed at reducing potential conflicts of interest. Those changes would largely ensure that the commissioner in charge of the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, which will administer the program, won't make decisions or have a say in investigating complaints about the system while they are running for election. </p>
<p>Fritz is the only member of council who's run for office using public financing (under the defunct city program) and also the only member of council who doesn't accept large donor checks her proposal disdains. So it's worth pointing out that she found support from two men who will be out of public office in less than a month. Hales declined to run for re-election, and Novick was defeated in a runoff. </p>
<p>"No one in Portland politics is bought and paid for," Hales said before voting Wednesday. "We have ethical people serving to the best of their ability." But, he noted, elections here become an "arms race" that can take attention from holding office or officials' personal lives. (That dynamic was a central reason Hales said he wouldn't run for re-election). </p>
<p>Fritz has long indicated she wants to push the new system in without a public vote, despite the fact that voters eschewed financing elections in 2010. One big reason: She didn't feel like leading another ballot campaign, fresh off of convincing Portlanders to <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2016/11/09/18684087/a-lot-went-wrong-on-election-night">approve a 3 percent sales tax</a> on recreational pot. </p>
<p>Today, she pointed to the <a href="http://katu.com/news/politics/multnomah-county-measures">overwhelming victory of a campaign finance reform measure</a> in Multnomah County on November 8 as reason why her system shouldn't come up for a vote. </p>
<p>"It’s an absolute indication that spending several hundred thousand dollars putting this on the ballot would be a waste of several hundred thousand dollars," Fritz said.</p>
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Wed, 07 Dec 2016 18:11:26 -0800Portland MercuryOfficials Plan to Clear North Portland's Forgotten Realms Camp After Monday Firehttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18733109/officials-plan-to-clear-north-portlands-forgotten-realms-camp-after-monday-fire
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18733109/officials-plan-to-clear-north-portlands-forgotten-realms-camp-after-monday-fireDirk VanderHart
by Dirk VanderHart
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:496px"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18734598/1481156481-screen_shot_2016-12-07_at_4.16.57_pm.png" alt="Forgotten Realms, shortly after it was founded in January 2016." title="Forgotten Realms, shortly after it was founded in January 2016."><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">Forgotten Realms, shortly after it was founded in January 2016.</span> <span class="imageCredit">Dirk VanderHart</span></div></div></p>
<p>The city says it's time for Forgotten Realms to go. </p>
<p>For nearly a year, the organized homeless camp has sat on a city-owned lot at North Kerby and Graham. But in light of a fire that<a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/12/malfunctioning_stove_sparks_fi.html"> engulfed a small structure and damaged an adjacent home</a> on Monday, city officials are planning to move residents elsewhere, according to Mayor Charlie Hales' office. </p>
<p>"I think, because of the public safety concerns after the fire, that that property will not be allowed to be camped on anymore," says Brian Worley, a spokesperson for Hales. "There are liability issues of unsanctioned camps being set up." </p>
<p>He draws a parallel between concerns at Forgotten Realms and camps along the Springwater Corridor, the Southeast Portland multi-use trail that saw a massive coordinated sweep earlier this year<a href="http://koin.com/2016/07/11/fire-burns-trees-on-springwater-corridor/"> not long after a fire broke out</a>. </p>
<p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MORE: Emergency crews respond to fire at homeless camp in N. Portland; neighboring home damaged.<a href="https://t.co/4TuFYabOm2">https://t.co/4TuFYabOm2</a> <a href="https://t.co/zgQlFAv2wC">pic.twitter.com/zgQlFAv2wC</a><br />— FOX 12 Oregon KPTV (@fox12oregon) <a href="https://twitter.com/fox12oregon/status/805791330047692801">December 5, 2016</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Worley said Hales made the call Forgotten Realms couldn't continue. He didn't offer any hard timelines for when the city's campsite cleanup workers might move in, saying only "it will probably be soon" (it likely won't take place during the<a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/06/18731693/a-winter-storms-on-the-way-here-are-available-warming-shelters"> winter storm Portland's bracing for</a>). Officials have so far focused on trying to connect residents of the camp to shelters, Worley said. </p>
<p>The city hasn't posted formal cleanup notice at the site, which is required before residents are swept, but local pastor and homeless advocate Steve Kimes, who helped establish the camp, says he's heard officially that posting will be up by December 15. </p>
<p>If the city follows through, it's something of a blow to the growing push for creating small, organized homeless communities around the city. Forgotten Realms sprung up in January, when a group of people who'd been living near the Hazelnut Grove site <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2016/01/11/did-portlands-latest-organized-homeless-camp-just-pop-up-near-legacy-emanuel">made a surprise move </a>to the city owned plot nearby. </p>
<p>Hales—who the following month would <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2016/02/08/homeless-portlanders-will-formally-be-allowed-to-camp-on-city-land-under-proposals-being-unveiled-this-afternoon">unveil a radical "safe sleep policy"</a>—first suggested he'd clear the camp, then let it stay. At one point, there was even talk of Forgotten Realms receiving a formal permit to use the land. That eventually fell through. </p>
<p>Kimes has <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/FRFireFund">begun an online crowdfunding campaign </a>for campers displaced by the fire. According to a narrative on that website: "City government had banned them from spending another night in Forgotten Realms, which they helped form and lead."</p>
<p>Without those four people, Kimes tells the Mercury the camp is not able to organize a resistance to being swept. </p>
<p>"At this point even though there's still a couple leaders left, I don’t think there's enough leadership to make it work," he says. </p>
<p>At the same time it plans to dismantle Forgotten Realms, the city's working toward creating more formal "villages" for homeless people, as <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2016/12/07/18732368/advocates-are-making-their-strongest-pitch-yet-for-new-homeless-villages">we report in this week's issue</a>. </p>
<p>"That's the model we want to move forward," Worley says.</p>
<p>That's not much comfort to existing Forgotten Realms residents. Aaron Martin, 45, describes himself as the head of security at the camp. He believes Portland Fire & Rescue took too long to respond when the fire broke out Monday morning. </p>
<p>"It took the fire department 20 minutes to get here," Martin tells the <em>Mercury</em>. "When we have campfires, they’re here in five minutes."</p>
<p>He says a faulty stove was to blame for the fire, and that that shouldn't be enough for him to be kicked off the site. </p>
<p>"This place has become our home," Martin says. "We’re not bad people. We’re trying to survive like everyone else."</p>
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Forgotten Realms, shortly after it was founded in January 2016.Dirk VanderHartWed, 07 Dec 2016 16:33:36 -0800Portland MercuryFred Thomas Still Rents in His Video for “Voiceover”http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18731678/fred-thomas-still-rents-in-his-video-for-voiceover
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18731678/fred-thomas-still-rents-in-his-video-for-voiceoverSuzette Smith
by Suzette Smith
<p><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2g2pymDewXs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>
<p>Yesterday Michigan scene indie folk old boy <b>Fred Thomas</b> debuted a video for the first single from his upcoming record <b><i>Changer</i></b> (out Jan 27 on Polyvinyl) via NPR’s <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/12/06/504470840/songs-we-love-fred-thomas-voiceover">Songs we Love</a> series. “Voiceover” charges in and—to a certain degree—past you with an upbeat tempo and Thomas’ unstoppable ruminations on laying “awake for hours” with “no progress/and another dead kid at my feet.” It’s a sad, relatable song, but with a happy, marching meter! That’s Fred Thomas for you. That’s a Michigan style. You can’t stop moving or you’ll freeze.</p>
<p>I’m from Michigan too, and I’ll admit I always took the scores of Fred Thomas musical projects (like Saturday Looks Good to Me) for granted and that his live shows would always be good—sometimes borderline life-affirming. I paid less attention to Michigan bands after I moved to Portland, but in 2015 <i>All Are Saved</i> snapped my attention back to Thomas, his impressive history of making good records and just, in general, being a good dude. Just last week Saturday Looks Good to Me added a song to a digital record and zine project <a href="https://musicisreallydumb.bandcamp.com/album/planned-parenthood-benefit">to benefit Planned Parenthood</a>. </p>
<p>The video for “Voiceover” fits with Thomas’s aesthetic of rust belt bohemia: dim rooms, high ceilings, old white walls that people rent and can't put holes in to decorate. Detroit director Noah Morrison explores life’s repetitive motions. Women remove lipstick shades, men apply eyeliner, and the same gate clicks open several times in scenes that are simultaneously home movie in their timing and borderline fashion design in their composition—which speaks to everything I know of the Michigan rock indie scene. There’s a blaring sameness, especially once the booze pops out. “Voiceover” contains a strong similarity to the opening anthem on <i>All Are Saved</i>, “Every Song Sung to a Dog.” It's got the fast, conversational singing right down to the seamless horns slipping in at the song’s blaring close. In both song and video, “Voiceover” is another anthem to being bright and frustrated and renting. </p>
<p><b><i>Changer</i> is due out Jan 27 on Polyvinyl. <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18731732/tyvek-fred-thomas">Fred Thomas plays Mississippi Studios on Feb 8th.</a></b></p>
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Wed, 07 Dec 2016 15:39:55 -0800Portland MercuryMayor Charlie Hales: Federal Judge Should Be Removed from Minding Portland Police Reformshttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18732899/mayor-charlie-hales-federal-judge-should-be-removed-from-minding-portland-police-reforms
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18732899/mayor-charlie-hales-federal-judge-should-be-removed-from-minding-portland-police-reformsDirk VanderHart
by Dirk VanderHart
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:614px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732992/1481148908-screen_shot_2016-12-07_at_2.14.39_pm.png" alt="Screen_Shot_2016-12-07_at_2.14.39_PM.png" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">Joe Schlaud</span></div></div></p>
<p>Mayor Charlie Hales says a federal judge "has lost credibility and standing in terms of being an impartial body" in overseeing Portland's efforts to reform its police bureau, and that another judge should be appointed.</p>
<p>Those potentially inflammatory comments—in the dwindling weeks of Hales' time at the city—came this afternoon, as the Portland City Council voted to fight US District Judge Michael Simon's order <a class="pdflink" href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/images/blogimages/2016/12/07/1481148238-doj_order.pdf" target="_blank">[PDF]</a> that the city file a status report on its efforts to improve a failing portion of federally mandated police reforms, and appear before him in late January.</p>
<p>Hales' ire has roots in an October 25 hearing before Simon—a yearly "status conference" the judge holds to make sure that a 2014 settlement between the city and the US Department of Justices over police abuse is on course. </p>
<p>During that lengthy hearing, an audience member, David "Kif" Davis, suggested that a deputy city attorney, Judy Prosper, should "go back to Haiti." Davis has said he was referencing <a href="http://www.ijdh.org/about/board-of-directors/">Prosper's work</a> as an attorney for controversial former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. For Hales and others, though, the comments came off as an unmistakably discriminatory reference to Prosper being Haitian-American. </p>
<p>Hales, who acts as police commissioner, says Simon had a duty to sanction Davis for the comments, rather than allowing him to continue to speak. Portland City Council <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/11/portlands_mayor_city_council_c.html">signed a letter in early November</a> registering concern about "racist, sexist, and other ad hominem attacks" that took place at the hearing.</p>
<p>The mayor in a conversation with the <em>Mercury</em> this afternoon, went further. He said Simon thanked Davis for his testimony, which Hales called "odious."</p>
<p>"I was so shocked that I didn't have the presence of mind to get up and walk out," Hales said, "which I would have otherwise."</p>
<p>Asked whether another judge should be tapped to mind the settlement agreement, Hales responded "yes."</p>
<p>But in many ways, the mayor's shock is tangential to the judicial order the council voted unanimously to challenge this morning—over the objections of a police watchdog and the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform (AMAC).</p>
<p>A key provision in the city's 2014 settlement with the US Department of Justice over police abuses requires officials to engage the community on required reforms. But as the <em>Mercury</em> reported last month, <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2016/11/02/18670864/portlands-police-reform-effort-has-a-problem">that engagement effort has lapsed</a> to the point the DOJ has indicated the city might be breaching the agreement. </p>
<p>After the October 25 status conference, Simon ordered Portland to send an update on its efforts to improve things by December 2, and appear before him on January 31 to discuss how it might amend the settlement in order to create a better system for community outreach. </p>
<p>The city says the judge doesn't have the authority. </p>
<p>City Attorney Tracy Reeve points out that the federal case Simon had presided over has been dismissed. The judge's sole remaining authority is to hold yearly status conferences, and to weigh in if the US DOJ says the city has breached its settlement agreement, she says. Other than that, the city believes Simon should have no say in the matter. </p>
<p>"It's not the court's role to monitor the compliance," Reeve said today. "We are working very actively."</p>
<p>Reeve's office will file a challenge to Simon's order before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, she tells the <em>Mercury</em>. In doing so, she hopes to get clarity about how much sway Simon still has over the settlement agreement. </p>
<p>This marks the <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/beseeching-a-higher-power-hales-fritz-want-to-appeal-judges-demand-for-annual-updates-on-police-reform/Content?oid=13974064">second time the city's challenged Simon's authority</a> in this case. In 2014, officials appealed to the Ninth Circuit seeking clarification on how much power Simon had over the settlement. The appeal resulted in a settlement, which Reeve acknowledges gives Simon the ability to hold status conferences and call hearings "as the court may otherwise order."</p>
<p>Reeve says that language was not intended to let the judge call Portland officials to account whenever he wants. </p>
<p>One party that has a say in the settlement agreement, the AMAC, implored city council not to challenge Simon's order, worrying it would only further delay police reforms (officials insisted it won't).</p>
<p>"We feel this incident… should not be used to be a setback for the settlement agreement," AMAC member Reverend Doctor LeRoy Haynes testified. "We are in critical and dangerous times. The city of Portland needs confidence that city leadership is not stalling implementation of the settlement agreement."</p>
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Joe SchlaudWed, 07 Dec 2016 14:16:23 -0800Portland MercuryWin Two Tickets to See "The Siren Theater's Best Christmas Ever!"http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18732965/win-two-tickets-to-see-the-siren-theaters-best-christmas-ever
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18732965/win-two-tickets-to-see-the-siren-theaters-best-christmas-everWm.™ Steven Humphrey
by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
{{image:1}}
<p>Hey guys! Now more than ever you need A GOOD LAUGH, am I right? Then here's your opportunity to see a super funny show I'm in called <a href="http://www.sirentheater.com/now-playing-at-the-siren.html"><em>The Siren Theater's Best Christmas Ever!</em></a> As you know, the Siren Theater provides some of the best comedy in town, AND this show comes from the same people who produced and starred in last year's holiday season smash hit, <em>Rudolph—On Stage!</em></p>
<p><em>The Siren Theater's Best Christmas Ever!</em> is an evening jam-packed with hilarious holiday sketches from <strong>some of your favorite Portland funny people</strong>, including... Shelley McLendon, Loren Hoskins, Erin Jean O'Regan, Jed Arkley, Janet Scanlon, Chad Parsons, Michael Fetters, Lori Ferraro, and Wm. Steven Humphrey (hey, that's me!). There will be singing, dancing, joke-making, people dressed like elves (always funny), and general holly-jolliness. BUT! It only runs for <strong>two weekends only</strong>, Dec 9 & 10, and Dec 16 & 17—<a href="http://www.strangertickets.com/Browse#search=best%20christmas%20ever">so get your tickets now and here! </a></p>
<p>What's that? Low on funds this holiday season? Then try to <strong>WIN TWO FREE TICKETS </strong>to <em>The Siren Theater's Best Christmas Ever!</em>'s Friday Dec 9 show by entering our contest below! Deadline to enter is by 3 pm tomorrow (Thursday, Dec 8). <strong>GOOD LUCK AND HO! HO! HO!<br /></strong></p>
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Wed, 07 Dec 2016 13:44:00 -0800Portland MercuryMy Body's Forthcoming EP, Seven Wives, Is Classical Pophttp://www.portlandmercury.com/music/2016/12/07/18731844/my-bodys-fragmented-identities
http://www.portlandmercury.com/music/2016/12/07/18731844/my-bodys-fragmented-identitiesMorgan Troper
by Morgan Troper
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732952/1481146499-music-mybody.jpg" alt="MY BODY From Portland to Brooklyn and back." title="MY BODY From Portland to Brooklyn and back."><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">MY BODY <i>From Portland to Brooklyn and back.</i></span> <span class="imageCredit">JEREMY HERNANDEZ</span></div></div></p>
<p><b>BEING CLASSICALLY</b> trained has never exactly been a badge of honor in the world of popular music (unless you’re in an early ’70s prog rock band). The reality that music is ultimately a learned skill—or science, rather—challenges our mythologized perception of the artist as a solitary, tortured soul, imbued at birth by some higher power with this fake shit we call talent.</p>
<p>Jordan Bagnall, the singer and songwriter behind Portland pop project My Body, is classically trained and proud of it: “I started playing piano when I was seven, and then the viola in school until college, and I have this short list of things I’ve picked up along the way,” she says. “For me, it’s like I learned another language that I never really stopped using.”</p>
<p>Bagnall’s compositions prove that possessing a classical “vocabulary” is virtually always an asset, even when you’re working in a different idiom. My Body makes indelible, heavily synthesized music that seems primed for commercial success. But the project’s deceptively catchy pop songs are spritzed with hidden complexities stemming from Bagnall’s vast knowledge of her craft; her dense but never overpowering vocal overdubs are anchored by erratic drum loops and rapid keyboard arpeggios, alluding to a self-conscious virtuosity simmering beneath the radio-ready glaze.</p>
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MY BODY <i>From Portland to Brooklyn and back.</i>JEREMY HERNANDEZWed, 07 Dec 2016 13:44:00 -0800Portland MercuryFucketiquettehttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2016/12/07/18732953/fucketiquette
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2016/12/07/18732953/fucketiquetteAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>Social graces. Doesn't exist. No such thing as politeness or consideration. I could be standing there and instead of a greeting, it's a demanding do this for me, a complaint or what I'm doing wrong. First words out the mouth. Sometimes the greeting is a claw finger motion, or a respectable four finger get your ass over here. Other times it's a motion of a hand in the air saying what the fucks going on. No need look someone in the eye to acknowledge them. Yea, just look down at your shoes. Nevermind the thank you either if I helped you with anything. Helping you means I did something to go out of my way for your benefit, just so we're clear. Sometimes, it's just someone walking away grumbling something. Nice back of your head, by the way. I could be standing in line waiting my turn out of the way, but someone has just got to walk by in a hurry, whether behind me and hit me, or in front of me and cut me off. I could be walking on the sidewalk and bicycle intersects on the sidewalk zooming on by. No excuse me, or sorry. Forget it. The word sorry doesn't exist. As long as there's a finger to point, someone else is to blame. The worst is these moms that push those car carts the size of mini coopers through the grocery store aisles with 2 kids enjoying the ride. </p>
<p>All I'm finding is that I seem to enjoy someone that smiles at me and says hello. <br />All I know is a handshake and fist bump is a beautiful thing. <br />But a high five. All right now. Let's get it on.</p>
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Wed, 07 Dec 2016 13:35:08 -0800Portland MercuryIn Case You Forgot What Snow in Portland Looks Like...http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18732954/in-case-you-forgot-what-snow-in-portland-looks-like
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18732954/in-case-you-forgot-what-snow-in-portland-looks-likeBri Brey
by Bri Brey
<p>Portland is abuzz with rumors that <strong>it may snow tomorrow</strong>! ⛄❄️❄️❄️⛄</p>
<p>For other cities this may be a run-of-the-mill winter occurrence, but not in Portland! Your Twitter feed and Instagram are about to 🔥 light up🔥 with pictures of frost-covered flowers and cars! Just in case you've forgotten what snow looks like in Portland (IT IS NOT PRETTY), here are a few reminders from snowpocalypse past...</p>
<p>If you're new to Portland and can't understand why everyone is freaking out like <strong><em>THIS GUY</em></strong> (the <em>Mercury</em>'s news reporter Doug Brown)...</p>
<p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I can't believe people here are freaking out about snow. It's snow.<br />— doug brown (@dougbrown8) <a href="https://twitter.com/dougbrown8/status/806610825582477312">December 7, 2016</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2012/12/18/a-newcomers-guide-to-portland-in-the-winter">...here's a guide on how to behave when the snow begins. </a> <strong>Get your face to the nearest window and lick it! </strong></p>
<p>Remember that no one can drive...<br /><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EaksWCnHaDM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p>
<p>Except for <i>Portland Mercury</i> editor Wm. Steven Humphrey who always seems to get to work just fine...</p>
<p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here's video of my morning commute which was pretty normal for me! <a href="https://t.co/ozKEh4Nacd">pic.twitter.com/ozKEh4Nacd</a><br />— Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) <a href="https://twitter.com/WmSteveHumphrey/status/684095567455109120">January 4, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2016/01/04/how-to-drive-in-the-snow-if-you-absolutely-have-to">Here's some advice on snow driving if you have to tomorrow. </a></p>
<p>So the roads are terrible, and the sidewalks are terrible—is it okay to walk in the streets? <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2016/01/05/ice-storm-ethics-is-it-okay-to-walk-in-the-street">Here's a lesson in ice storm ethics. </a></p>
<p>Here are some photos of the great snow of 2009:</p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:500px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732988/1481148791-1262193845-dscn1204.jpg" alt="Beer bottle-cap-eyed snowman outside the Penny Market on SE Stark." title="Beer bottle-cap-eyed snowman outside the Penny Market on SE Stark."><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">Beer bottle-cap-eyed snowman outside the Penny Market on SE Stark.</span></div></div></p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:500px"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732989/1481148818-1262193880-dscn1199.jpg" alt="Hardcore! Snow doesnt stop the joggers or the bike commuters." title="Hardcore! Snow doesnt stop the joggers or the bike commuters."><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">Hardcore! Snow doesn't stop the joggers or the bike commuters.</span></div></div></p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:500px"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732990/1481148853-1262193916-dscn1202.jpg" alt="The sweetest sled jump of all time, SE Yamhill." title="The sweetest sled jump of all time, SE Yamhill."><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">The sweetest sled jump of all time, SE Yamhill.</span></div></div></p>
<p>And if you're feeling really brave, <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/tips-for-winter-hiking-in-and-around-portland/Content?oid=17411201">here's some tips for winter hiking</a>! </p>
<p>BRING IT ON, JACK FROST—YOU ICY BASTARD! <br /><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y_DKWLyAGoU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p>
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Don't be frightened!THINKSTOCKWed, 07 Dec 2016 13:34:00 -0800Portland MercuryAlready Boomedhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2016/12/07/18732943/already-boomed
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2016/12/07/18732943/already-boomedAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>Portland. Please deal. Change will continually happen. For better or worse, whether you like it or not. What one person likes another dislikes. Stop crying. Get with it or get out. I'm a transplant from 2000. Never thought I'd say the T word. Who cares? What a dumb word to describe a person who migrates. I just moved here. A transplant is to describe organs. I distinctly remember being at Powells, looking west at a demolished building with a hole in a wall, on a vacant lot, and what became to be Henrys Tavern, etc. I have pictures of it. I remember the Pearl not being the Pearl with it being the place to visit galleries, over shops and boutiques. I never go to the Pearl anymore. I don't live in downtown anymore. I love my area of outer SE, past 82nd. There will be a high rise hotel or apt across the street from where I work. The old Oregonian is now transformed opening 2017. I happened to go walking in the south industrial area near grand and OMSI. Wow, that area changed too. Theres empty lots all over downtown for new construction. New apt rising on the east side. Houses torn down to where I can't even remember what was there, waiting for something new. What puzzles me is still seeing leasing signs for years. I guess we're waiting for them to come? </p>
<p>Whatever, where I pay attention or not, whether I like it or not, change and transformation is good. I suppose Tv, actors, art, and songs should remain the same, all the time, year after year?</p>
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Wed, 07 Dec 2016 13:27:59 -0800Portland MercuryThis Bud’s for Brew: Coalition Brewing's CBD Beerhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18728766/this-buds-for-brew-coalition-brewings-cbd-beer
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18728766/this-buds-for-brew-coalition-brewings-cbd-beerBrian Yaeger
by Brian Yaeger
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/18728773/1480933794-img_0736.jpg" alt="Coalitions West Coast IPA with a sidecar of Space Fruit IPA for comparison" title="Coalitions West Coast IPA with a sidecar of Space Fruit IPA for comparison"><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption"><i>Coalition's West Coast IPA, with a sidecar of Space Fruit IPA for comparison.</i></span> <span class="imageCredit">Brian Yaeger</span></div></div></p>
<p>Malted barley, water, and yeast have always needed hops to make beer magical. Now—as reported in <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/cannabis/2016/12/07/18731798/coalition-brewings-cbd-infused-beer">this week's Cannabuzz</a>—<b>there’s an Oregon brewery packing a little extra magic with the help of the relative of the hop plant: weed</b>. In the <em>Cannabaceae</em> family, the two star siblings are <em>humulus</em> (hops) and <em>cannabis</em> (cannabis). But this isn’t a puff piece about some new beer that’ll get you high.</p>
<p>Portland's <a href="http://www.coalitionbrewing.com/">Coalition Brewing</a> has followed in the footsteps of Dads & Dudes Breweria from Aurora, Colorado, which released Sativa IPA and Indica DIPA as the <a href="http://www.westword.com/restaurants/colorado-brewery-will-debut-cbd-infused-sativa-ipa-at-great-american-beer-fest-7046348">first commercially brewed beers with CBD</a>—pot’s non psychoactive ingredient since THC-infused beer is now and for the foreseeable future illegal. Down in California, Thorn Street Brewery’s OG HighPA Session IPA (which of course boasted 4.20 percent ABV) became the Golden State’s first commercial weed beer. <strong>So how’d Coalition beat all the breweries in Oregon to the punch?</strong> That’s what several other Oregon breweries licensed by the OLCC and TTB asked co-founder Elan Walsky.</p>
<p>During a presentation that was part of <a href="https://pdxweedweek2016.sched.org/">PDX Weed Week</a>—like PDX Beer Week, of course that’s a thing—Walsky and the brewery’s sales and marketing manager Phillip Boyle explained that they simply had a couple lawyers make the right calls to ask how such an operation would go about brewing with hemp. (“Hello OLCC? I’m calling for a friend....”) To this day, breweries are required to apply for formula approval for any beer using the non-standard ingredients. That time <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=iN5KBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=breakside+duck+carcass&source=bl&ots=1MDoq7E9ST&sig=SMbSOv6sdvwSe5VR4o-hZTQR6-s&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiciuve5NzQAhUNyGMKHe6GD2wQ6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=breakside%20duck%20carcass&f=false">Breakside brewed a beer with duck carcasses</a>? That wasn’t done spur of the moment. So the fact that Coalition’s West Coast IPA, a 6 percent sipper infused with industrial hemp oil extracted using carbon dioxide, is dosed to offer 10 milligrams of CBD per serving isn’t a lark—it’s got the G-men’s thumbs-up. Incidentally, I was told by the roomful of doobie dweebs that, pharmacologically, you can’t really OD on CBD. <br /><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/18728775/1480934103-fullsizeoutput_2d04.jpeg" alt="Coalition co-owner Elan Walsky talks terpenes" title="Coalition co-owner Elan Walsky talks terpenes"><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption"><i>Coalition co-owner Elan Walsky talks terpenes.</i></span></div></div><br />But how does it taste? As the beer warms, <strong>the flavors absolutely start to shine through</strong>. It’s “dank,” yes, but also woody like sawdust and mushroom, pithy like lemon and tangerine peels, and finished with a touch of chai spices. “<strong>It’s all about working with terpenes</strong> and not just cramming CBD into the beer,” says Walsky. (Even if, anecdotally, that CBD may prevent or dull hangovers.)</p>
<p>Terpenes impart bud’s and hop’s aroma and flavor. So the purpose of Coalition’s beers—yes, we’ll soon see more of them—isn’t merely to pull a stunt, the way that some other bizarre ingredients do. The purpose is to layer a new dimension in the terpene-rich field of hop-forward beers. Some breweries use grapefruit peel or juice to embellish already citrus-throwing hops such as Cascade; in fact, Coalition has long brewed Space Fruit IPA with a mélange of five fruits. In this era of dank, resinous beers designed to emulate if not bongwater than something close to it, beers like West Coast IPA merely have a new bow in the quiver to play with the flavor profile. “That’s the endgame with this project,” says Walsky, who notes that the beer should start to show up on draft around town in a few weeks and in 500ml bottles in a few months. “As growers become more specialized, we’re going to be able to do similar projects to single-hop beers. And hopefully pair complementary hops.”</p>
<p>Brewers are already using Lemon Drop hops. Can brewing with Lemon Diesel or Lemon Kush be far away?</p>
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Coalition's West Coast IPA with a sidecar of Space Fruit IPA for comparisonBrian YaegerWed, 07 Dec 2016 12:59:35 -0800Portland MercuryThings to Do Tonight!http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18725133/things-to-do-tonight
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18725133/things-to-do-tonightMercury Staff
by Mercury Staff
<p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:500px;"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18594276/14517667_1498190260197792_3009298019272937355_n.jpg" alt="" title="" width="500" ></div></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18594294/matmos-jeff-carey-bully-fae">Matmos</a></b><br /> Experimental electronic musicians Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt—AKA Matmos—have incorporated everything from the amplified neural activity of crayfish to the snips and slices of plastic surgery into past releases. The duo’s latest album, <i>Ultimate Care II</i>, was constructed entirely out of sounds pulled from a Whirlpool washing machine of the same name, and yes, the machine will be accompanying Matmos tonight in their attempt to transfix an audience with the powers of a mundane household chore. CHIPP TERWILLIGER<br />
<B>8:30 pm, Holocene, $14</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18666701/vivas-holiday-an-opera-in-one-act"><i>Viva's Holiday: An Opera in One Act</i></a></b><br /> Last December, original opera <i>Viva’s Holiday</i> became a lone bloom amid the fallow field where good art goes to die during the travesty known as Holiday Theater Season. Based on the memoirs of Portland stripper/gadabout/author Viva Las Vegas, it’s a story about the stress of going home for the holidays when your family doesn’t share your values. Essential viewing in a post-Trump world. MEGAN BURBANK <br />
<B>9 pm, Star Theater, $25</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18716610/golden-hour-dr-identity-conditioner">Golden Hour, Dr. Identity, Conditioner</a></b><br /> The High Water Marks hosts a benefit show for the Trans Assistance Project featuring sets from a trio of local DIY punk and rock outfits. Suggested donation is $6, but attendees are asked to give all they can as all proceeds will be donated.<br />
<b>9 pm, High Water Mark, $6</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18474813/cirque-du-soleil-toruk">Cirque du Soleil: Toruk</a></b><br /> Cirque du Soleil performs <i>Toruk</i>, inspired by James's Cameron's <i>Avatar</i>. The performance is a prequel, and is "definitely part of the canon,” according to Jon Landau, James Cameron’s production partner, so here's hoping the Cirque clowns somehow make their way into the upcoming sequels. <Br />
<b>7:30 pm, Moda Center, $27-110, all ages</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18637769/storm-large-holiday-ordeal">Storm Large Holiday Ordeal</a></b><br /> The renowned local singer-songwriter and Pink Martini vocalist brings her annual holiday show to Revolution Hall for a two-night stand.<br />
<b>8 pm, Revolution Hall, $36-50, all ages</b></p>
<P><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18575751/jim-james-twin-limb">Jim James, Twin Limb</a></b><br /> My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James plays a solo show at the Roseland in support of his new solo record, <i>Eternally Even</i>, his first solo release since 2013’s <i>Regions of Light and Sound of God</i>.<br />
<b>8 pm, Roseland, $30, all ages</b></p>
<p><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18700359/reluctant-tales-of-apprehension-in-words-and-music"><i>Reluctant: Tales of Apprehension in Words and Music</i></a></b><br /> Courtenay Hameister hosts a night of song and storytelling based on her <i>Reluctant Adventurer</i> column, with storytelling by authors Chelsea Cain, Daniel Wilson, Lidia Yuknavitch, John Henry, and Christine McKinley.<br />
<b>7 pm, Siren Theater, $20-22</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18600500/grouplove-wild-ones">Grouplove, Wild Ones</a></b><br /> The Los Angeles-based indie rock and pop outfit return to Portland for a "December to Remember" performance in support of their 2016 full-length, <i>Big Mess</i>.<Br />
<b>8 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $37, all ages</b></p>
<p>Don't forget to check out our <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events">Things To Do calendar</a> for <i>even more</I> things to do!</p>
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Wed, 07 Dec 2016 12:30:00 -0800Portland MercuryHot Shit for the Chilehead on Your Holiday Shopping Listhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/food-and-drink/2016/12/07/18732472/eat-this
http://www.portlandmercury.com/food-and-drink/2016/12/07/18732472/eat-thisHeather Arndt Anderson
by Heather Arndt Anderson
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:500px"><img src="http://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732837/1481141807-chilies_istock_hana76.jpg" alt="Chilies_iStock_Hana76.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">ISTOCK/HANA76</span></div></div><br /><strong>FUN-HATING</strong> Sylvester Graham called spicy foods “some of the most powerful of the class of artificial stimulants” and warned good Christians against them. Maybe that’s why chileheads have a bit of a wicked streak? Taboos are such a kick. And so are edible gifts!</p>
<p>Got a chile-lover on your shopping list this year? Add a personal touch and save some cash by filling a basket with hand-selected spicy goodies! You can go low-brow with Atomic Fireballs, sriracha-flavored popcorn, and Frank’s Red Hot Pringles, or you could put together a more gourmet collection of dried chiles, chile pastes, and heat-infused snacks from your friendly neighborhood international market.</p>
<p>If you’ve got scratch to spare, though, you could also just kick back and leave it to the professionals. Fuego Box is a hot sauce-of-the-month club that sends small-batch and craft hot sauces right to your (or your loved one’s) door!</p>
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ISTOCK/HANA76Wed, 07 Dec 2016 12:17:51 -0800Portland MercurySwank, Ambitious Japanese Outpost Is A New Chapter In Portland Dininghttp://www.portlandmercury.com/Last-Supper/2016/12/07/18732430/afuris-high-concept-high-dollar-izakaya
http://www.portlandmercury.com/Last-Supper/2016/12/07/18732430/afuris-high-concept-high-dollar-izakayaAndrea Damewood
by Andrea Damewood
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:500px"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732807/1481140794-dina-avila_afuri-7363.jpg" alt="dina-avila_afuri-7363.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">Dina Avila</span></div></div></p>
<p><strong>AFURI</strong>, the latest cult Japanese chain to hang a shingle in Portland, draws lines of tourists and locals alike to its modest kitchens across eight locations in Tokyo (and one in Kanagawa), where locals pay 980 Yen (about $8.66) to order its signature yuzu-based ramen.</p>
<p>In Southeast Portland, the lines for Afuri’s first US outpost are no different. But here, locals have the pleasure of paying $15 for that same famous yuzu broth. In fact, until it was pulled from the menu last week, Afuri’s chicken paitan ramen may have been the only bowl of ramen in the country with a base menu price of $20 (it’s been replaced by an $18 bowl of tonkotsu).</p>
<p>Afuri chose Portland after an extensive search, owners said, because the pH balance of the city’s Bull Run water closely mimics the water they use for their broths at home. With its cavernous, low-lit ambiance, a completely open kitchen with Japanese robata and irori coal-fired grills glowing merrily, and a full range of izakaya dishes, Portland’s Afuri is a far cry from its sister restaurants in Tokyo, where customers order one of just a few options from a machine at the door.</p>
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Dina AvilaWed, 07 Dec 2016 12:02:26 -0800Portland MercuryOregon is Finally Processing Its Rape Kit Backlog, But That's Just the Beginning of Changing How We Handle Sexual Assault Caseshttp://admin.portlandmercury.com/feature/2016/12/07/18732402/justice-delayed
http://admin.portlandmercury.com/feature/2016/12/07/18732402/justice-delayedMegan Burbank
by Megan Burbank
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732802/1481139366-rapekit2_web.jpg" alt="rapekit2_web.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">JENNIFER ILETT</span></div></div></p>
<p>Last spring, the Oregon Legislature passed two bills reforming how the state handles cases of sexual assault. One struck down the statute of limitations in cases of sexual assault, allowing victims more time to come forward; the other mandated that Oregon’s huge backlog of rape kits finally be processed. In April, almost 3,000 untested kits—some dating back 10 years—were shipped to a lab in Salt Lake City to be tested. In October, 33 came back with DNA matches to perpetrators in a national criminal database.</p>
<p>Sam’s kit wasn’t one of these. Sam, who uses they/them pronouns and whose real name we aren’t printing, was sexually assaulted a little over a year ago at a house show in Portland. The <em>Mercury</em> reported on their story earlier this year [“<a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/feature/2016/09/28/18594434/his-word-against-mine">His Word Against Mine</a>,” Feature, Sep 28, 2016]. After the assault, Sam says they went to a hospital, where a rape kit was administered. After most of the evidence collection was complete, a police officer questioned them—an experience Sam describes as more like an interrogation than an interview.</p>
<p>“I said, at the time, that I didn’t want to press charges because I was terrified of doing so,” says Sam. But eventually, they changed their mind and contacted the police. “I called the detective I spoke to at the hospital about a week or so after the matter, telling him I actually did want to press charges,” says Sam. “I think he passed my case along to someone else because when I went to the police station to follow up, I spoke to two different male detectives.”</p>
<p>Despite going through the process of reporting the assault, undergoing evidence collection, and repeatedly trying to press charges, says Sam, “No follow-up with my kit ever happened.”</p>
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JENNIFER ILETTWed, 07 Dec 2016 11:40:16 -0800Portland MercuryHulk Broke! So Hulk Write Fake News! Make Big $$$!http://www.portlandmercury.com/new-column/2016/12/07/18731806/new-column
http://www.portlandmercury.com/new-column/2016/12/07/18731806/new-columnThe Incredible Hulk
by The Incredible Hulk
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:500px"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732665/1481134263-grabbag-hulkfinal.jpg" alt="grabbag-hulkfinal.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p>Dear puny humans... <strong>HULK BROKE!</strong> First, landlord make Hulk pay “extra tenant fee” for puny Bruce Banner! Then, Hulk get “let go” from Forever 21! (Hulk fight with Assistant Manager Jenny! Hulk HATE Assistant Manager Jenny! She body shame Hulk.) And THEN Nigerian prince—not Black Panther—email Hulk and ask for $3,000! In return, Hulk get million bucks! But it six months and Nigerian prince not return Hulk emails. If Hulk can’t trust Nigerian prince, who can Hulk trust?!?</p>
<p>Anyway, Hulk need money! So Hulk have plan: <strong>write fake news!</strong> Hulk hear Russia pay good ruble for stories that not have single fact. Hulk perfect for job, because Hulk SMASH facts! Watch...</p>
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Wed, 07 Dec 2016 10:08:00 -0800Portland MercuryBeer and Cannabis Go Great Together. Who Knew?http://www.portlandmercury.com/cannabis/2016/12/07/18731798/coalition-brewings-cbd-infused-beer
http://www.portlandmercury.com/cannabis/2016/12/07/18731798/coalition-brewings-cbd-infused-beerJosh Jardine
by Josh Jardine
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="http://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/18732475/1481130544-pot1-beernweed.jpg" alt="pot1-beernweed.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">ISTOCK / HYRMA AND GIOCALDE</span></div></div><br /><b>A FEW MONTHS BACK</b>, I was at a cannabis dinner event. I got to talking with the gentleman sitting across from me, and he mentioned he was a brewery owner with a good news/bad news scenario.</p>
<p>The good news: The OLCC had approved his request to brew a beer infused with cannabidiol, or CBD, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis prized for its medicinal properties. The bad news? He had not been able to find a source in Oregon for CBD, despite numerous attempts.</p>
<p>Although I had spent the past 90 minutes getting all the dinner guests high (once again I was at a cannabis event where <i>no one seemed to have brought any weed</i>), I had the presence of mind to mention that I knew of someone who could supply him with CBD—Jerry Norton, who I profiled in a column last year [<i><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/cannabuzz/Content?oid=17084830">Cannabuzz</a>, Dec 2, 2015</i>]. With resin-coated fingers, I typed out a quick email intro during the cab ride home.</p>
<p>I recently got a response from my dinner companion—Elan Walsky of Coalition Brewing, to be precise—reminding me of that conversation, and thanking me profusely for the introduction. He wrote that it had resulted in a commercial Oregon brewery’s first CBD-infused beer (with credit to Half Baked Labs for assistance with flavor matching), and he asked if I wanted to stop by and try some. Who says no to such an offer? Not me.</p>
<p>I asked Walsky why he wanted to pair CBD and beer.</p>
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ISTOCK / HYRMA AND GIOCALDEWed, 07 Dec 2016 09:29:43 -0800Portland MercuryGood Morning, News: Snow's A-Coming, Abortion Under Attack, and Trump is Time's "Satan of the Year"http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18732283/good-morning-news-snows-a-coming-abortion-under-attack-and-trump-is-times-satan-of-the-year
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/07/18732283/good-morning-news-snows-a-coming-abortion-under-attack-and-trump-is-times-satan-of-the-yearWm.™ Steven Humphrey
by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
<p><strong>GOOD MORNING, BLOGTOWN!</strong> And need I say I can't break away, you control every little thing I do. I used to be a swinger, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlA-z0du1Pg">until you wrapped me 'round your finger.</a> LET'S GO TO PRESS.</p>
<p>Hey Portland, get ready for you first <strong>winter storm </strong>of the year, and for those in need, here's <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/12/06/18731693/a-winter-storms-on-the-way-here-are-available-warming-shelters">a list of the local warming shelters.</a></p>
<p>For those interested in such things, the Oregon Ducks reportedly have a new coach: <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2016/12/south_floridas_willie_taggart.html#incart_river_home">South Florida's Willie Taggart,</a> who will be the school's first black coach in its history.</p>
<p>Just hours after President Obama delivered a speech about taking a nuanced approach to defeating ISIS, <strong>president-elect Trump</strong> said... well, you know...<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/07/donald-trump-we-will-stop-racing-to-topple-foreign-regimes"> the uninformed, ignorant opposite.</a></p>
<p>Meanwhile Veep-elect <strong>Mike Pence</strong> is either delusional or a flat-out liar, because he believes conservatives have<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/07/pence-reassures-rich-patrons-of-trumps-commitment-to-conservative-ideas"> a "mandate" to make all sorts of terrible, sweeping changes</a> to the country. (For those still counting, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hillary-clinton-27-million-lead-popular-vote-donald-trump-cook-report-a7459631.html">Hillary Clinton leads the popular vote by over 2.7 million.</a> Some "mandate.")</p>
<p>Speaking of lies,<strong> Donald Trump</strong> tweeted yesterday that he will <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/boeing-responds-after-trump-knocks-contract-for-air-force-one-jets-174029191.html">cancel the order for a new Air Force One</a>, due to its more than "$4 billion" price tag. Of course, he lied and he's wrong. JESUS CHRIST.</p>
<p>In <strong>Michigan's vote recount</strong>, the whole shebang could be thrown into <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/05/us-election-recount-michigan-donald-trump-hillary-clinton">chaos thanks to broken polling machines</a>—in which case, whether wrong or not, the current vote count will stand.</p>
<p><strong>Trump</strong> gets awarded <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-gets-his-time-magazine-nod-for-person-of-the-year-131723842.html"><em>Time</em> magazine's "Person of the Year"</a>—and is still bitching about it.</p>
<p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Haaaahaha Time Magazine ladies and gentlemen, with a late entry for "Subliminal Burn of the Year." <a href="https://t.co/vF6FeUIbeT">pic.twitter.com/vF6FeUIbeT</a><br />— Geoff Martin (@canadatech) <a href="https://twitter.com/canadatech/status/806526868744794112">December 7, 2016</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>It turns out that <strong>Former Senator Bob Dole </strong>has been working as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/us/politics/bob-dole-taiwan-lobby-trump.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news">a lobbyist for the Taiwanese government</a> and have been in close contact with the Trump team for the past six months to set up that controversial call with Taiwan's president.</p>
<p><strong>The Weather Channel </strong><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-channel-to-breitbart-stop-citing-us-to-spread-climate-skepticism-213949224.html">calls out Breitbart (fake) News</a> for mentioning them in their bullshit report on global warming.</p>
<p><strong>Ohio legislators</strong> have approved an <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/07/politics/ohio-abortion-bill/index.html">anti-abortion "heartbeat bill" </a>that would outlaw abortions after six weeks even in the case of rape or incest. Now it's up to Republican Governor John Kasich to either approve or veto the legislation.</p>
<p><strong>Roughly 43 bodies</strong>—including a pop star—have been recovered from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/07/asia/pakistan-missing-plane/index.html">a Pakistani plane crash.</a></p>
<p>Let's take a closer look at this <strong>WEATHER</strong> situation: <a href="http://www.kptv.com/category/214284/7-day-forecast">Mostly sunny today </a>with a chilly high of 38, but lots of freezing rain and possibly SNOW for tomorrow! (Activate <strong>PANIC </strong>mechanism.)</p>
<p>And finally, take a lesson from this <strong>very sneaky penalty kick</strong>. ("That was naughty mate," indeed!)<br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/LeeTrundle10">@LeeTrundle10</a> that was naughty mate 😍 <a href="https://t.co/OnG4G6AeX1">pic.twitter.com/OnG4G6AeX1</a><br />— Jordan (@JordanWebber96) <a href="https://twitter.com/JordanWebber96/status/805471467328696320">December 4, 2016</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
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Wed, 07 Dec 2016 08:42:30 -0800Portland Mercury